


protector of all beastmen needs a mf nap. that is all

by caramelpunk



Category: BNA: Brand New Animal (Anime)
Genre: Angst, BNA, and traumatized, i rly do not know what to tag, michiru is his daughter ok, michiru is sweet, not ship, shirou is rly tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caramelpunk/pseuds/caramelpunk
Summary: title says it all
Comments: 7
Kudos: 96





	protector of all beastmen needs a mf nap. that is all

He didn’t really ask for any of this. 

Of course he’s honored, don’t get him wrong. He made the decision to protect all beastmen on his own. He takes pride in how many lives he’s saved.

But sometimes he gets tired, okay? He just wants a break. But he never gets one. He hasn’t had a break for a thousand years.

_ ‘I’m late, I’m late, I’m late,’ he thought as he rushed out the door. _

_ “Hey! Where are you going?” _

_ He internally groaned. He was almost twenty-one. When would she stop breathing down his neck? “I’ll be back before three, Mom-” _

_ “It’s not safe! Humans have been spotted on the outskirts, it’s only a matter of time before they-” _

_ He cut her off. “Nothing will happen. I’m not a child. I’ll be home soon. Bye.” _

_ “Hey! Wait-” _

_ He ran out the door.  _

That was the last time he ever spoke to his mother. 

Nothing could have ever prepared him for what was going to happen when he returned home.

Sometimes he can still smell the rotting flesh. He can still feel the agony of having his throat slit and being thrown aside, left to rot atop mangled bodies. His blood mixed with theirs. He couldn’t move. He will never forget the pure terror and repulsion, the sight of all the carnage,  _ the feeling of his wet, decomposing, mutilated brethren pressed under and around his body _ ...

_ Snap out of it. _ He gasped, forcing himself back into the present, where he was hunched over a bathroom sink.

Another thing he didn’t ask for was being violently pulled back into the worst day of his life every time he looked at the scar on his neck.

He took a deep, shuddering breath before pulling himself together. Slowly, a little shakily, he stood upright and clasped his collar back on around his neck.

He looked up into the mirror and saw hollowed eyes staring back at him.

He was so tired. How long would he have to keep doing this? He couldn’t handle it. It was like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And technically it was. The world of beastmen, at least.

Some days he feels overwhelming pride that because of his hard work, no other beastman will ever have to go through what he did.

But other days, he honestly just wishes he were dead. 

“Shirou-san! Do you want to watch me throw my ball into the neighbor’s washing machine?! Their window is open, I think I can make it!”

Then he wouldn’t have to deal with this idiot tanuki either. 

“No.” He replied curtly, slipping on his trench coat. A thousand years. A millennia of pain and rage and suffering beyond the comprehension of any mortal, and this is where he ends up? He opened the bathroom door and deadpanned.

The kid was standing right there.

She looked very suspicious. “Ahaha… What if I told you that I already did it?”

“In the five seconds before I opened the door?”

“No. In the ten before you said no.”

He facepalmed and dragged his hand down his face, utterly exasperated.

“I’ll handle it. Go to your room.”

She smiled sheepishly and dashed away.

9:30 PM

After settling things with the neighbors, he returned home and plopped down on the couch. Michiru was sitting on the floor, playing some game on her phone. 

“I thought I told you to go to your room?”

“You said that half an hour ago. It doesn’t apply anymore,” She responded, still focused on whatever she was playing. 

He sighed and leaned back into the couch. He didn’t really care. All he wanted to do was take a nice, relaxing nap.

_ RIIIIIIIIIIING! _

Goddammit.

He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. Who knows what he would have to do now? Maybe just go report some files, maybe break a few bones, maybe get impaled again. He goes through an excruciatingly painful near death experience (minus the dying part) like four times a week. He's sick of it.

Michiru usually laughs whenever this happens.  _ “Haha, you never catch a break, do you?”  _ It was all good-natured, of course. She looked up and smirked, ready to tease Shirou about his infinite eye bags, when she noticed how upset he looked.

Weird. Normally he looks forward to saving people.

She had been trying to find a way to repay him for all that he's helped her with, so she decided to take this as an opportunity. She dropped her game and rushed to the phone before Shirou got up.

He just stared.  _ Huh? _

“Hello? Yes! Mhm...He can’t answer right now,”

_ What?  _ He immediately shot up. He can always answer. He’s the protector of all beastmen, of course he can answer. Even if he really, really, really does not want to.

“Understood! I’ll take care of it! Bye!”

She spun around, smiling.

Shirou just stared at her in his signature  _ what the fuck  _ expression. “What are you doing?”

“The mayor needed you to go record some evidence at a crime scene. But you don’t have to. I’ll do it.”

“What do you mean  _ you’ll  _ do it? You don’t even-”

“It’ll be easy. I just have to go, copy your super smell thing, record info on some files, and come home. It’ll only take, like, a few hours. You can stay here and go to sleep.”

Sleep? That sounded really, really good right now. 

But he couldn’t. A few hours? Something could happen, something only he could handle. Granted, nothing ever happens when recording files, but who knows. “Okay? And when a violent murderer shows up?”

He winced. A violent murderer. That’s what he was.

“Nothing will happen, Shirou-san. You’ve done this a million times. Nothing ever happens. I’ll take care of it. Get some sleep.”

On a normal day, he would say no way. Allowing some high-schooler to take on a job from the mayor? Alone? It was foolish.

But he was just really tired today. A little sad. He just wanted to go to sleep.

She was right, too. Nothing ever happens when you just write out what happened during the crime in the safety of the mayor's office.

“...Fine. Fine, fine, whatever, go. Nothing that happens is my responsibility.” That was a lie. If something happened he would take full blame and regret it for the rest of his life. He sat back down and crossed his arms. Maybe he should take it back. He didn’t really know what to do. This has never happened before.

“All right! Thank you, Shirou-san!” She was already half out the door before he could change his mind. “Oh! I almost forgot.”

She ran back inside and turned on a lamp. Then she turned off the main lights. 

It made the room feel... really cozy.

He felt a slight warmth spread through his chest. She was inconveniencing herself, dropping her game (she never dropped her game) just so he could get some rest. His face broke into the closest thing resembling a smile he could muster. “No, Michiru. Thank you.”

“Of course!” Michiru grinned at him before walking out the door.

Back inside, Shirou stretched out across the couch. Finally. 

It was ten at night. Maybe he would get a full night’s sleep. Crazy. He dozed off in a matter of seconds, all the pain from earlier replaced with warmth. And peace.

**Author's Note:**

> erm im kinda jealous of shirou not gonna lie. hes sleeping rn and its 1:20 in the morning for me. how did this happen,,
> 
> anyways yes i thought about how there's no way shirou enjoys his life all the time. if i was an immortal god i would beg my spirits to just let me die LMAO. i also thought about what it must have been like for him to just bleed out surrounded by dead bodies. shudders. thats horrific, poor guy
> 
> michiru is a little shit i love her <3
> 
> my info - https://caramelpunk.carrd.co/


End file.
